Make sure you cell phone is eligible for unlocking (i.e., must be fully paid off, must have been active on the Sprint network for at least 50 days, etc.)

Contact Sprint and provide your Sprint account number and password, the last 4 digits of your SSN, your device's IMEI or MEID number, cell phone number

NOTE: Sprint allows you to unlock your cell phone for international travel before you've paid off your device in full.

Sprint Unlocking Checklist

Device must be SIM unlock capable

Device must be or have been active on the Sprint network for a minimum of 50 days

Device must be fully paid off, whether through an equipment installment program or through a final lump sum payment at the end of a Flex lease

Account must be in good standing

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Device Info for Unlocking

To ask for an unlock, you'll need to contact either Sprint Customer Care for domestic unlocking, or Sprint Worldwide Care for international and military unlocks.

You'll need:

The account number attached to the device

The account password, or last four digits of your social security number

The IMEI or MEID number of the device. This number will be located somewhere on the device itself, or you cal dial *#06# to get it. The number will be 14 or 15 digits long and appeat onscreen after you dial and press call or send.

The device phone number

If requesting an unlock for military deployment, your deployment papers

Sprint phones eligible for unlocking

Almost all of Sprint's popular newer devices are eligible for domestic and international unlocking, meaning that, once eligible, you can insert another carrier's SIM card to activate it on their network, both here and abroad (more on that in the next section).

The following are some Sprint devices eligible for domestic and international unlocking:

iPhone 5s

iPhone 5c

iPhone 6

iPhone 6s / 6s Plus

iPhone 7 / 7 Plus

iPhone 8 / 8 Plus

iPhone X

Samsung Galaxy S8 / S8+

Samsung Galaxy S9 / S9+

Samsung Galaxy Note 8

LG G5

LG G6

LG V30

One notable exception from this list is the iPhone 5, which cannot be unlocked for domestic use on another carrier.

Unlocking for international travel

Sprint allows you to unlock your phone for international travel, so you can pop out Sprint's SIM and pop in one from an overseas carrier. To be eligible, you’ll need to meet the following requirements:

Current Sprint customer

Device has been active for at least 90 days, with no overdue payments

Boot Grizzly Men's UGG Chukka Neumel Waterproof You cannot have unlocked more than one other device within the last 12 months

Customers will need to contact Sprint to apply for an international unlock, but take note: unlocking for international use won’t necessarily mean that the device is unlocked for domestic use. You’ll still have to request another unlock if you wish to change your US carrier.

If you need an unlock for overseas military service, you will need to provide proof of your deployment, and you must not have unlocked another Sprint device within the past 12 months.

One last note. . .

Many former Sprint users have found out the hard way that it's not always easy activating a Sprint device on a different network. Sprint is a CDMA carrier, like Verizon; however, despite using the same kind of technology, not all of Sprint's phones are compatible with Verizon service--you'll need to check the IMEI with Verizon first.

Technically, it's possible to use a Sprint phone on T-Mobile or AT&T's GSM networks, if your device is LTE-capable or an iPhone.

The problem is that although 'global' phones can be activated on GSM service, you may find that you're not able to use all your device's features (for example, without CDMA your phone may not be able to make and receive calls and texts, even if accessing LTE is possible). Generally, success depends on what sort of phone you have.

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